Meaning "Mountain Fir" this soft raw Jersey cow's milk cheese was cheese maker Willi Schmid's first big success. Imported from Switzerland, Fosterkase is a washed rind cheese made after a centuries old recipe. Similar to Vacherin Mont d'Or, the gooey cheese is held together by a strip of bark, which holds the cheese together like a girdle. Willi even cuts the trees for the fir band himself from the Toggenburg forest. The fir bark gives the cheese its particular woodsy taste of tannins, as well as a slightly reddish hue.

Fosterkase Bergfichte is a creamy, gooey cheese with the golden color you can only get from raw Jersey cow's milk. This beautiful cheese has a full and heady aroma that hints at its complex and zesty flavor. Enjoy Fosterkase with a big red wine, like old vine Zinfandel. Stouts and ESB ales will also pair nicely with this cheese. Serve this lusty cheese lumberjack style, with good dark bread, smoked ham, and crisp vegetables.

Truly the best cheese for a raclette! This is what we used when we lived in Switzerland. It stinks like heck, but is so sweet and lucious.

By christy_528from NJon Apr 18, 2013

Wow! The way cheese should be.

I was really pleasantly surprised. I ordered about 15 different cheeses and this was, hands-down, the best of the bunch. Super-flavorful, great semi-soft consistency. I will order again and again. One of the best Vacherin-type cheese I have ever tasted! (and I have probably tasted them all) - This cheese is worth every penny. It doesn't get better than this outside of France.

By Patillazfrom Chicagoon Feb 10, 2012

Real Cheese

We need access to more cheese like this in America, and less cheeses that taste like cottage cheese with fruit mixed in.